Sunday, April 30, 2017

Oh Scrap! :CiL

Have you heard of Kat's (Kat and Cat Quilts) Covered in Love quilt drive?  I am always so amazed with the amount of work and commitment Kat puts into making these quilts so I got to thinking recently I wanted to give her a bit of a break (she rarely gets to work on her own quilts) and I would host one of her quilt block drives!



I asked Kat if we could possibly use one of my Scrap-A-Palooza blocks for the May-June drive and we decided on these fun and bright string blocks.  There will be links to all of the steps I used for making my blocks.  The CiL block drive will be using the same colorways.

You can read more about Kat's block announcement post here.



So if you want, you can send your blocks directly to me and I will sew them up, quilt and bind them into finished quilts and send them off to Kat.  It will be fun to see how many different layout designs I can come up with using the blocks you send. 

You can email me for my address at cynthiabdesigns (at) gmail (dot) com.

This will be a great way to use up some of those Scraps!


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It is now your turn to share what you are making with scraps.  Here are the details for linking up:
  • This linky party is for any scrappy project - It can be in-process or a finished piece.
  • You can link up your blog post (not your homepage please) or Instagram photo from the past week that features your use of scraps.
  • If you are linking to a blog post, I ask that you link back to my blog somewhere in your post. So if you are writing about scraps, just get into the habit of including a link as there will be a linky party available every week!
  • If you are using Instagram, please use the hashtag #ohscrap.
  • This is a party so remember to socialize and comment on the posts of others.
  • Following my blog is not necessary but it sure would be great if you do!
Quilting is more fun than Housework

So if you love scrappy projects, feel free to grab my button for your sidebar or posts and get ready to share all your wonderful projects from scraps.  And if you have a great idea for using scraps and would like to be featured, feel free to contact me!







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Saturday, April 29, 2017

When Traveling...

I recently went to the beautiful Sun Valley Idaho area to teach my Geese Migration quilt and present a quilt show.  I was invited by the 5Bee Quilt Guild and had a wonderful time.  I even met some fellow bloggers - Barb at Mountain Quiltworks and Janice at Color, Creating and Quilting. 
Both are sweet at pie!

And in between events, what to do except check out the sites and visit the local quilt store.
(A big thanks to Barb for being my tour guide!)



Luckily I had a bit of room in my luggage for these lovelies I just had to bring home.  I bought some rather large cuts of these cross weaves.  The top is a lovely blue/purple by Moda and the bottom two are by Robert Kaufman.



 I also found this black and white print that I have been wanting for a project in my head.  And lucky me, it was on sale.  The plaid I just needed because it was pretty!


So hopefully now I am done buying fabrics for a bit.
But summer travels could have me visiting new to me quilt stores :)








Linking Up:

Molli Sparkles (Sunday Stash)
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Monday, April 24, 2017

Save Our Scraps Blog Hop


Sew Much Fun Blog Hop




Not too long ago, Jen over at Faith and Fabric asked me if I wanted to be part of a blog hop whose topic was Scraps.  It didn't take me long to hop on board!






If this is your first visit here, I am glad you stop by.  If you are looking for scrappy inspiration, I think you will find lots of great ideas throughout my blog.  I have a whole Scrap-A-Palooza page with links to a number of designs for scraps.  I hope you take some time to check it out!



Quilting is more fun than Housework

Also, every Sunday, I host a linky party called Oh Scrap!  Every week lots of bloggers share what they are making with their scraps.  If you love to use scraps, I hope you join us!





I thought I would share some of the scrap management techniques that I use.  I keep all of my scraps organized by color.  If I keep my scraps jumbled in one bin, I find them to be too overwhelming.  But I think they are pretty and inspiring when they are all grouped by color.



I think one of the best things I do to keep my scraps organized is to have a sorting system right at my cutting table.  I use these fabric buckets but you could use a number of containers.  Once a fabric becomes a scrap, it is immediately sorted into a bin.



When the fabric bins overflow, I also have a series of plastic drawers for scraps  that are also sorted by color.  Now when I want to make a scrap quilt, all I need to do is pull the appropriate colored drawers.  No longer do I need to sort through big piles of scraps looking for the colors I need.




While pre-cutting scraps work for a lot of quilters, I found this technique didn't work for me.  But I do like to have 2.5" squares on hand.  I used to spend hours trimming up my scraps.  Now I use my AccuQuilt fabric cutter.  I love how quickly it turns chunks I am ready to make into squares.  Plus it really saves my hands - I was finding my fingers aching after spending an evening cutting up scraps.

It is an expensive tool but I have never regretted buying it.



I store my cut squares in plastic silverware organizers I bought at a kitchen store.  My single container has now exploded into four.  They too are sorted by color so it is really easy to find what I need.

I hope I have given you some useful ideas to your own scrap quilting.  For more tips, you can read what other bloggers on the hop are sharing.  Here is a list of all those participating!
Stepahnie at Swoodson Says
Gemia at Phat Quarters
Audrey at The Cloth Parcel
Amanda at Fabric Engineer
A big thanks to Jen over at Faith and Fabrics for organizing this event!


Scrap quilts really are the best!






Linking Up:

Love Laugh Quilt (Monday Making)
Patchwork Times (Design Wall Monday)
Cooking Up Quilts (Main Crush Mondays)
Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward)

***This post contains affiliate links.  Clicking through and making a purchase may result in my making a commission.  Thanks!
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Sunday, April 23, 2017

Oh Scrap! : Backings

For me, making scrap quilts is like upcycling found objects.  Making a pretty quilt top from bits of fabric that might have otherwise ended up in the trash appeals to my thrifty self.

So once I complete a scrappy quilt top, the last thing I want to be faced with is spending a lot of money for the backing fabric.  In fact, for the most part, I hate spending a lot of money on any of my quilt backings - except for a few very special projects. 

So I am always on the lookout for a good sale!



I try to buy all of my backings for about $5 - $6 a yard or less.  When I see a good price, I buy between 4 and 6 yard cuts.  And I get super excited when I find a GREAT sale like on the three backings I recently added from Connecting Threads.  While I was initially interested in their wide backing sale, I saw they had lots of cute fabrics in their clearance section that were a mere $3 a yard.



The Good Neighbors fabrics were being clearanced so I also filled my cart with some one yard cuts, that I know I can use for baby quilt backings and bindings.



So if you are wondering what I look for when I buy backing fabrics for my stash?  Here are a few more examples of some from my stash.  I look for pretty backings that are one of three things.

1.  Multi colored with nice bright colors
2.  Monochromatic fabric in single colorways
3.  Fabrics in colorways that are either all hot hues or all cool hues

Fabrics I try and stay away from unless I have a specific use.  (I find these types of fabrics sit in my stash for a really long time.)

1.  Gray, Black and Brown fabrics
2. Novelty and Holiday fabrics
3. Low Volume
4. Prints with muddy colors

I find that having a nice rounded backing stash on hand ensures my scrap quilting doesn't break my wallet.  Which simply means I get to sew more  :)

Do you buy backings for your stash?


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It is now your turn to share what you are making with scraps.  Here are the details for linking up:
  • This linky party is for any scrappy project - It can be in-process or a finished piece.
  • You can link up your blog post (not your homepage please) or Instagram photo from the past week that features your use of scraps.
  • If you are linking to a blog post, I ask that you link back to my blog somewhere in your post. So if you are writing about scraps, just get into the habit of including a link as there will be a linky party available every week!
  • If you are using Instagram, please use the hashtag #ohscrap.
  • This is a party so remember to socialize and comment on the posts of others.
  • Following my blog is not necessary but it sure would be great if you do!
Quilting is more fun than Housework

So if you love scrappy projects, feel free to grab my button for your sidebar or posts and get ready to share all your wonderful projects from scraps.  And if you have a great idea for using scraps and would like to be featured, feel free to contact me!





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Linking Up:

Love Laugh Quilt (Monday Making)
Patchwork Times (Design Wall Monday)
Cooking Up Quilts (Main Crush Mondays)
Em's ScrapBag (Moving it Forward)
Molli Sparkles (Sunday Stash)

 ***This post contains affiliate links.  Clicking through and making a purchase, at no additional cost to you, may result in my making a commission.  I appreciate the support!

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Friday, April 21, 2017

When a Finished Top is Something to Celebrate!

Lately, I feel like I have zero focus or direction in my sewing.  I have lots of quilts in the works but I just can't seem to make a lot of progress on any specific project.



But there is one quilt top that has been finally moved to the "ready to be quilted" pile.  And that is my colorwash scrap vortex quilt.  Woo Hoo!

What was the secret on this one?  It was my leader/ender project as I was working on all those other things.  So it just quietly continued to grow and evolve as I wasn't paying attention.



Lots of tiny blue and purple scraps went into this one.  It is hard to believe that almost all of the fabrics are scraps from previous quilts.


 I think it measures about 50 x 60".  I will have to see what I have for a backing because I am sure I have a couple choices for this one.  I am hoping to dig around and uncover an oldie that I can finally find a home for.

Now, back to my "real" projects!




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Sunday, April 16, 2017

Oh Scrap! : Easter

Happy Easter Sunday!




There was a bunny sighting in my sewingroom. 
(Maybe I will have this finished by next Easter!)


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It is now your turn to share what you are making with scraps.  Here are the details for linking up:
  • This linky party is for any scrappy project - It can be in-process or a finished piece.
  • You can link up your blog post (not your homepage please) or Instagram photo from the past week that features your use of scraps.
  • If you are linking to a blog post, I ask that you link back to my blog somewhere in your post. So if you are writing about scraps, just get into the habit of including a link as there will be a linky party available every week!
  • If you are using Instagram, please use the hashtag #ohscrap.
  • This is a party so remember to socialize and comment on the posts of others.
  • Following my blog is not necessary but it sure would be great if you do!
Quilting is more fun than Housework

So if you love scrappy projects, feel free to grab my button for your sidebar or posts and get ready to share all your wonderful projects from scraps.  And if you have a great idea for using scraps and would like to be featured, feel free to contact me!




Posted by at 17 comments:
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Friday, April 14, 2017

Knuffle Bunny String Quilt

Gotta love those quick finishes!


April is the month for us to use up some of our multi-colored scraps.  As I am making string blocks to try and burn through many of my older scraps this year, I thought I would grab a bag of novelty scraps a friend had given me and make a quick baby quilt.




While most of the prints are from the Knuffle Bunny collection manufactured by Could 9 fabrics, I did need to add a few coordinating scraps so I had enough to make an entire quilt.  The string blocks are 10" and the quilt finishes up at about 40" square.




I was able to keep aside a few larger pieces for a backing.
I used up every bit of the fabric that was gifted to me to make the quilt!



The fabrics are super adorable so I really enjoyed sewing this one up.




Another small bag of scraps is now emptied and I have a sweet little scrappy quilt instead.  I am sure it will probably end up in either donated to a charity or in my Etsy shop so if you need a cute little quilt contact me!




Craftsy
(Affiliate Link)
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Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Sewcial Bee Blocks

I thought I would pop in and share a few more Sewcial Bee Sampler blocks.  Block #11 was released today and I am already finished.  I can't believe I am up to date on a QAL!









Here are the two blocks I finished last week.  I love, love, love the blue and gold one. 

Unfortunately I got a couple of the orange "butterflies" in the top block turned.  But I am not sure about the fabrics I picked for the block so no need to fix it now until I decide if I am going to use the block.













Here is Block #11 that was just released today.  It went together really quickly...no tiny HSTs!




I have been putting the blocks up on my studio wall as I complete them.  The QAL is hosted by Maureen Cracknell and Sharon Holland.  Downloads of all the blocks are still available if you want to catch up.  I have been using my stash of Maureen's Nightfall and Garden Dreamer collections.
So pretty!

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Sunday, April 9, 2017

Oh Scrap! : 9 Patches

This weekend, between the wind, hail and downpours of rain, I have been working on getting my vegetable gardens ready to plant.  So not too much time in my sewing room.




But I did get my four multi-colored 9 patches sewn up.



So when I add them to previous months' blocks (red, aqua and purple), I have 16 blocks completed.  Still not sure what I am going to do with them there is still lots of time to figure that out.


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It is now your turn to share what you are making with scraps.  Here are the details for linking up:
  • This linky party is for any scrappy project - It can be in-process or a finished piece.
  • You can link up your blog post (not your homepage please) or Instagram photo from the past week that features your use of scraps.
  • If you are linking to a blog post, I ask that you link back to my blog somewhere in your post. So if you are writing about scraps, just get into the habit of including a link as there will be a linky party available every week!
  • If you are using Instagram, please use the hashtag #ohscrap.
  • This is a party so remember to socialize and comment on the posts of others.
  • Following my blog is not necessary but it sure would be great if you do!
Quilting is more fun than Housework

So if you love scrappy projects, feel free to grab my button for your sidebar or posts and get ready to share all your wonderful projects from scraps.  And if you have a great idea for using scraps and would like to be featured, feel free to contact me!









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Friday, April 7, 2017

Boards

Boards...A funny title for a blog post but it was definitely the theme in my sewing room this week.




An afternoon was spent making a few more design boards.  I use them all the time when I am sewing up various blocks or quilt sections right at my machine.  I like to work on multiple projects at once so this allows me to pull a section of fabrics off my design walls and stack them up next to my machine as I sew.  I can also take them to my ironing board as I sew up the blocks - keeping them all together and therefore less confusing.

Here is a link to the tutorial I loosely follow.



 And speaking of ironing boards - mine now has a new cover!  Looking back at previous posts, it looks like my board needs a new cover annually.  Not being too particular about the fabric, I just pulled an older fabric from my stash that didn't have a home.  Because I never close my ironing board, I simply grab some string and a large needle and lace the fabric across the bottom making it taunt.  It works great!

These are my only finishes for this week.  I am busily working on three quilt projects so I hope to get a top done soon.  Maybe there will be a quilt finish for next week!



Craftsy







*This post contains affiliate links.
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Wednesday, April 5, 2017

April UFO

In an effort to finish up some of my older (and neglected) UFOs, I am participating in the APQResolution UFO Challenge.  At the beginning of the year, I made a list of 12 projects and each month, American Patchwork picks a number, and that is the project you work on for the month.  You may not finish your item but hopefully you at least make some progress on it.

So far this year, I have scratched 3 items off my list!




For April, the number 11 was pulled so I will be getting this project out and dusting it off.  There is a LOT of work to do on this one!   It is actually two projects I am mashing together into one.  The floral applique blocks are from a project I started about a decade ago.  The Basketweave blocks I made using this paper-pieced pattern from Craftsy. 

If you are hesitant on trying foundation (paper) piecing, I use Carol Doak's method.  I still pull up sections of her Craftsy class for a refresher if I am working on something more detailed.  I find it to be a great resource.

But before I can start working on a layout, I guess I will be spending my next few evenings finishing up the needle turn applique on a few blocks!






Linking Up:

Freemotion by the River (Linky Tuesday)
Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Clicking through and making a purchase may result in my making a commission.  This is at no additional cost to you and the support is greatly appreciated!
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